FIX or REPAIR? Radiator Failure and The Cause [PLASTIC TANKS]
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2021
- Fixing radiators have become a thing of the past it seems. Today, we just remove and replace with new. We recently changed out a radiator in a full size GM SUV, so we decided to remove the tanks to find the cause. Further examination proved us right that the radiator and cooling system had been well taken care of with no signs of corrosion or improper coolant. In the end, our thoughts are that low coolant created a place for steam and expansion which caused the crack in the plastic radiator tank.
#shoplife #mechanic #radiatorfailure
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Hi Tim, your absolutely right the old school radiator was very easy to fix, I’ve seen these newer radiators fail right out of the box! And in Just a few weeks, this is today’s technology, excellent tear down Tim ty,
Thank you! It’s the 1st time I see how the transmission cooler is built inside a radiator! The failure is more designed! Designed to fail!
Spent a year as a mechanic in a radiator show back in the 70's. Yep... we fixed em all. My only comment is about the "steam" problem. The radiator cap is a pressure responsive device that is supposed to let off the high pressure "steam" so that no damage does occur when you overheat. Just thought I'd point that out.
That is a very good point, and one that's overlooked a lot. We've seen many times where people will replace their radiator caps with something "off-the-shelf" with zero concern of pressure difference. At the same time, plastic gets brittle over time, so the same pressure it held before, at some point, it gives up the ghost. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Great video. Thanks for doing it. I saw a transmission cooler inside the tank for the first time. That was exciting. Worth the price of admission haha. Keep up the great work. I throughly enjoy your channel.
Glad you liked it! Thanks again for watching.
This was actually a very informative video, now I know how they function and it's associated parts. 👍
Great video! Thanks for putting it together. I have a 2009 Toyota Camry that has a leak and reading up on the possible causes. Gonna take it apart tomorrow and see if I can fix it!
This was very good well done.
Great video man, the oil cooler is called a concentric oil cooler some radiators have two one for cooling engine oil and one for cooling transmission fluid
I once had a situation where I had 2 radiators that had leaks. One on the left tank and one on the right and no money to buy a new one. So I pried all those little tabs straight, swapped caps, cleaned the gaskets and put them back together. Getting the tabs to crimp tight enough was such a pain.
Almost all plastic end tanks will fail at some point...Its not a steam issue, a GM issue, a Ford Issue, or specific to any manufacturer...The plastic will start to weaken with all the heat cycles, and will eventually crack.
No doubt, you are correct. Plastic tanks are doomed to fail...period. However, I do know this one had a little help from coolant being low, and steam creates much more pressure from expansion than liquid. Thanks for watching.
Yah-
My 1999 Toyota Solara 3.0L V-6 radiator EXLODED as if lightning struck it in the top headlights side of the top filler neck area.
I thought I kept the coolant changed and up to snuff. I am just going to chalk it up to old age and 185k Mike's, mostly hardcore City of Chicago miles from the previous owner.
I was hoping for a method showing how to replace the seal and removing the tank wo tweaking the tabs to ehere it prob won't ever seal back up but this was still interesting. Thanks
Good job🎉
Thank you that was very interesting to see the inside of a radiator
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching.
I have a 2001 e150 and I have been having to add water for the last few months. Finally noticed a very fine split on the top reservoir. I was curious if you could buy new reservoirs. The aftermarket for it is only 120 bucks, so probably not worth it. What ive done is put epoxy over the split with pieces of fender well bandaids for strength. Will see if that'll work before ordering a new one. I only have 125 thousand miles on it, so am happy but disappointed too. The plastic is common now but obviously not immune to failure. For 120 bucks not bad, especially for a 20 year old van. I'll see how my patch works. Thanks for the video.
Worth the watch.
Thank you very much.
Thanks great video overtime you thermos cycle plastic so many times it gets brutal
Great point! You are correct. Thanks for watching.
assuming I got a plastic tank to replace it, is there any particular tool needed for reclaming it onto the radiator or will a pair of pliers work just fine?
Flat head screwdrivers aren't for screws! When was the last time you had a slotted screw?
My ASSET professor got mad at me for prying on a transfer case half with a flathead, but I said "When was the last time you used one of these on a screw?". He walked over to the toolbox, grabbed a flathead and came back over to me. I said "what are you doing?" He smirked and said "helping you pry this case half."
Man I miss that guy 😄
Nice !!!! Could have been pressure build up for sure , I like the change of pace !! Maybe presenting tools and their specifications in this type of scenario would be enjoying. 👍😃🙋🏻♂️
Thanks for the tips! Thanks for watching.
When replacing the Rad how much transmission fluid is lost? I'mplanning on replacing mine tomorrow and thats the only thing i'm worries about.
A plastic tank oem radiator on my 2018 Honda Civic Type R failed at the crimp. I replaced it with another oem Honda radiator which surprisingly was cheap at $130. I had to bleed the cooling system 3 times because the temp kept rising after a drive idling in the driveway. There was still an air pocket in the system. Used a big bleeder funnel but the last time I did this I replaced the thermostat, set the heater full blast, then held the throttle at 2k rpm a couple times. It hasn’t over heated since.
Yes, some vehicles are a real pain to "burp" the air out of the coolant system. Great point that I should have brought up in the video. Thanks for watching.
Looks easy to open I wana try with my one but not confident on putting it back together, the tabs are thick and need a water tight seal
cam you buy the side panels anywhere?
Just had my radiator replaced in my 2008 Ford F150 4.6. When I got it back home it looked like the tanks on the sides were still the old ones with a new core only. I just assumed no one does that anymore and that they simply replace the complete radiator?
What to use to reseal the tank ?
My daughter hit a large coyote and obviously bent the radiator. Haven’t had it looked at yet. It was our last running vehicle. The car told her to pull over and shut the engine off. I’m hoping it’s as simple as a radiator replacement.
great video however today being short on cash for replacement and long on time I am opting to go old school take the tanks off clean out the core and but my tank back together, pressure test i and reinstall.. yes it would be so much easier to just replace it.. thanks again
It failed because of the plastic tank radiator industrial complex.
Thanks for watching.
lol
😂
Good Information
Thanks for watching.
Thank you
You're welcome
Those tanks fail almost always at the top near the inlet. It’s the heat over time that deteriorates the composite.
I’ve repaired a radiator by melting down zip ties to fill the crack.
Did it work permanently? We've some repairs with zip tie welding, but it was temporary. Thanks for watching.
@@Shoptoolreviews t
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@@Shoptoolreviews The melting point of nylon6 (what zip ties and plastic radiator end caps are made of) is around 420F and the over heating temperature of a car is ~220F. I believe it’ll hold up for years to come, but the last 9 months have been fine.
Coincidental you mention this with the zip ties:
I just wantch a commercial on UA-cam from a company that sells a plastic soldering kit. Heat gun not included but advised to preheat the plastic.
The rub was after melting the plastic, new nylon was fed through the back of the soldering gun. Genius.
However: for $79.00 sales price, Rock Auto has my radiator for $100.00....so.....
I enjoyed your radiator video - I have a concerned with my 2010 5.6 L Nissan titan radiator ? Watching other UA-cam videos the transmission cooler internal part of the radiator something breaks and causes coolant to enter the transmission ? This seems to be a common problem on Nissan’s and I do believe different years I also think that I seen they’re trying to do class action lawsuits - I only have 51,000 miles but I am thinking about replacing the radiator - it would be educational if you could find out why the transmission cooler fails and is it that we could do something about that part ? On another note I wonder if they have replacement radiator to eliminate this issue I like my truck and I really wanna keep it as long as I can all the work I do go strictly through the dealer ship
Change the radiator from the oem, choose spectra premium brand or osc
Iove it but wanted to know more and can fix it
I plastic welded my tank by using zip ties melted into the tank plastic and mixed using a soldering iron, that sealed it well but I backed up the repair with epoxy two pack,,,,working well
Why you dont show how to replace the new tank?
Can you please disclose a good source to buy the tanks? May be not, any way, I live in Juarez Mexico and looked everywhere on line to buy the tank to a LR3 Land Rover, with no luck. I found it locally in radiator shop at a bigger price. Grate video and Thanks In Advance.
I think the best place for that vehicle would be at a radiator shop. The Land Rover is going to be pretty rare, except may in the UK. Thanks for watching.
Can the tanks be purchased or the tanks be patched ?
You can try gluing it but you'd be better off using polyvance nylon +15% glass welding rods for the repair.
I work in an actual radiator shop and that radiator your touching is one of two GM cross flows we keep on shelf because they always crack because people don’t change your coolant. Coolant is only good up to five years or 150,000 miles for extended life and less for others. When it gets old it breaks down and gets corroded because there is nothing protecting the metals in the system which there are more than one and corroded different ways contaminating the system causing you to heat and plug the radiator or part of cooling system and causes excess pressure. There is not one forever fluid on cars people!change them and don’t be afraid to look in the owners manual where you will find change intervals for many systems in your car. Thinks it’s bs that’s fine but don’t complain when your car goes down because labor is expensive and so are our tools to fix problems that could have been avoided
When you speak of "coolant" I'm assuming you are talking about coolant in the radiator? Forgive my ignorance! I am now faced with replacing my 2010 HHR's radiator . . . and was thinking it was a racket that the whole radiator had to be replaced, as opposed to fixing the leak . . . but then everything today seems to be in a "throw-away" status. I have 117K on the car and recently had the transmission fluid changed out. The radiator, to my knowledge, has never had a fluid change, but is kept filled and checked with routine maintenance.
I really want to know how to fix my car radiator I love watch it
Can you repair a plastic tank gasket? Mine is leaking at the gasket.
Mine too
I know what your radiator failed tim. It’s because it’s a GM 😂😂😂 I kid I kid!
Don't hurt me like that!! 😂 Thanks for watching.
Aluminum core last a long time also ...
It's kind of a good thing the plastic fails - better then waiting longer and the transmission fluid gets mixed with water after inter-cooler failure. Transmission disaster might be avoided!
I would of liked, if ran a light on one end of the radiator. Looking in the other end.
I have a plastic capped radiator out of my tractor. It looks like the seal failed. This radiator is proprietary and costs $1100.00 to replace. Do you think I may be able to find a seal for this?
I'm up against the same thing. I was thinking of taking the tank off and using a sealant on the existing rubber seal....what do you think?
@@sean7193 I have started to bend the aluminum crimps to remove it. I will let you know what I see. It definitely looks like the seal has failed on mine.
@@tblake3286 hi Blake thanks. Yes I over pressurized mine doing a pressure test by accident...learned my lesson there... should have reduced the compressor output...anyway.... let me know what you find. I was thinking of taking it off and applying some high end coolant safe sealant to the existing seal, and then making sure the tabs are good and tight when going back together. it should work....dont know if its worth it due to the failure risk, but probably worth it.
@@sean7193 my radiator is $1100.00 for a new one, so I’m going to do everything I can to fix this one.
@@tblake3286 agreed!.... let me know how it goes and what sealant you use.
It failed because, collent got reacted with the plastic, this happened with mine , your plastic is light brown from inside while mine is dark browm with spots. And plastic nozels on radiator are totally worn out, nozels looks like they are make of card board, i mean to say plastic is totally decades of. This is from my corolla 2015 with original coolant and 80k miles drove. While i have another corolla with 200k miles 2006 model. And i never had a complain about its raditor. i think original coolant quality is not good these days.
It says fix or repair so I was waiting for the fix or repair, but you replaced it. Not the same thing lol
you never "fix or repair" a broken radiator since a radiator not working at full capacity can severely damage your engine, thus replacement is optimal
I’m trying to do this hopefully it’s just a cracked tank
Ya muy cristalizado por eso causa eso se estalla
1970s radiator were metal take apart and clean. but plastic seem to me you replace. i guess you can flexseal it.
We definitely should have flex-sealed it. Thanks for watching.
IF there is sand within the radiator, it is the reason the rubber seal failed. It's an abrasive and when the coolant travels through the system it acts like sandpaper on the rubber seal.......This is the question: How did sand get into the Radiator?
That's a trans oil pre-heater ! Trans coolers are stand alone in front or to the side of the radiator behind the grill !
Actually its a heat exchanger, it allows the radiator to warm the fluid to operating temperature and then once the thermostat opens it helps to cool the hot transmission fluid, maintaining a constant stable temperature of the fluid.
A oil to water heat exchanger does a better job of keep trans temps down than a oil to air cooler that mounts in the front of the truck, adding the external cooler does add more cooling once its paired with the factory oil cooler in the radiator.
Alguien en newyork tendrá trabajo en radiadores para mi estoy en busca de trabajo .
I can get a Chinese radiator.. full replacement.. less than 150$ these days.. they work fine- or have for me- for the last 15 years. Not worth the time. The labor on it would cost more than the replacement, or very close.. unless you just have a sentimental attachment I think you’d do better just throwing a cheapo in.
Why can you not just buy a new tank and replace it, is that an option for the DIY guy.
The year is 2023 Welcome to the future where raw material is expensive, back to fixing it before you junk it.
What's it with the owerwhelming background music
Plastic trash why are car companies cheap like that
You get what you pay for with that cheap Chinese crap. Better of repairing the original radiator that came from factory.
Plastic radiators are junk to begin with. You're better off to just replace with new junk. IMO.
So you cant fix it? That was a waste of 10 minutes. Thanks
Please talk less work more ,why don't you explain the ,how to fix the leakage.